5/11/2017

This NYT article has been expanded bigly since it first appeared yesterday. With so many (necessary) descriptions of procedure and bureaucratic hierarchy it's going to be challenging to keep track of any meaningful information these "Russia Inquiries" produce (assuming there are any). With that in mind, let's not underestimate the importance of entertainment value. Without that there would be no history at all. So it was, I admit, a slight sense of relief that I felt upon learning of little-known bureau which operates out of a toilet bowl-shaped
building in the suburbs of Washington

...Two
separate congressional inquiries into Russian meddling are relying on
evidence and intelligence being amassed by the F.B.I., and if the
bureau’s investigation falters, the congressional inquiries are likely
to be hobbled. Perhaps for this reason, Mr. Comey’s firing appears to
have imbued the Senate Intelligence Committee with a renewed sense of
urgency.

The
committee issued its first subpoena in the Russia investigation on
Wednesday, ordering Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s former national
security adviser, to hand over records of any emails, phone calls,
meetings and financial dealings with Russians.

It
was an aggressive new tack in what had been a slowly unfolding inquiry.
A day earlier, the Senate panel began pressing a little-known
government bureau that tracks money laundering and terrorism financing
for leads in the Russian investigation...

{...}

...Wednesday,
Mr. Burr and Mr. Warner asked the Treasury Department’s Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network for financial information on Mr. Trump and
some of his associates that was relevant to the Russia investigation.

Both
Mr. Warner and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon — the ranking Democrat on
the Finance Committee with jurisdiction over the Treasury Department and
also a member of the Intelligence Committee — have said they will block
the confirmation of Sigal Mandelker, Mr. Trump’s nominee to be the top
Treasury official for terrorism and financial crimes, until the network
delivers the information.

“I
have stated repeatedly that we have to follow the money if we are going
to get to the bottom of how Russia has attacked our democracy,” Mr.
Wyden said on Wednesday. “That means thoroughly review any information
that relates to financial connections between Russia and President Trump
and his associates, whether direct or laundered through hidden or
illicit transactions.”

The
little-known bureau, which operates out of a toilet bowl-shaped
building in the suburbs of Washington, serves as the financial
intelligence network of the United States, gathering and maintaining a
vast collection of data on transactions and suspicious financial
activity that can yield valuable leads and help expose hard-to-find
networks.

The
financial crimes network would not confirm its participation in the
inquiry, in line with its policy not to comment on investigations or
even confirm that they exist, said Steve Hudak, a spokesman.

But
financial intelligence experts, including several former employees of
the bureau, said its database, which contains more than 200 million
records, can be a treasure trove of information about financial ties
between individuals and companies for law enforcement agencies pursuing
complex investigations.